Saturday, 1 March 2014

Mishti Pulao/ Bengali Sweet Pulao …love at first whiff!!!

Mishti Pulao/ Bengali Sweet Pulao…as promised in the last
post...again, one of those quintessential Bengali dishes and stuff that legends
are made of…I fell in love with this at the first whiff and when I tasted it,
was sure this is what heaven tasted like…this pulao is normally made with a
special variety of short grain rice called Gobindo Bhog but can be made with
Basmati rice as well…I make it the way hubz likes it - no green peas (“we” feel
it takes away from the taste of the pulao), no raisins (we hate raisins) and an
extra bit of cashews (“we” love cashews)…did you notice the we without the
quotes in there? Yes, WE do agree on a few things!!!J

Mishti Pulao/ Bengali Sweet Pulao

Ingredients:

Gobindo Bhog or Basmati rice, 2 cups

Green cardamom, 3

Cloves, 4

Bayleaves, 2

Cinnamon, 1” long

Cashews, you could do with ¼ cup to ½ cup but I added 1 cup J

Raisins, ¼ cup (I skipped)

Fresh ginger, grated, 1 tsp

Turmeric powder, 1 tsp

Ghee, 2 tbsp

Sugar, 3- 4 tsp

Salt, to taste

Water, if using Gobindo Bhog rice – 3 ½ cups water and if using
Basmati rice – 4 cups

Instructions:

If using Gobindo Bhog rice, wash the rice till water runs clear
and drain in a colander

If using Basmati rice, wash the rice till water runs clear, soak
for 15-20 minutes in cold water and drain in a colander

Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed deep pan. Lower the heat and
add green cardamom, cloves, bayleaves and cinnamon.

When they start to sizzle, add the cashews (and raisins, if
using). Fry on low flame till the cashews turn light golden brown on each side
– be careful, so that the cashews don’t burn.

Add in the ginger, turmeric and fry for another 10 –15 seconds.

Add in the drained out rice. Gently mix everything so that the
rice gets nicely coated with ghee – do the mixing gently so that the rice
grains don’t break up.